Proficiency

One thing I like about Florida is that summer comes early, marked by two events-the snowbirds go home and take the traffic jams with them and the weather gets warmer. Eventually, itll get hot, but Im reptilian by nature and the weather suits my clothes, as the old bluesmen say. Its Cub weather. With less […]

Our weekly survey of aviation news turned up an announcement of certification of the newest Airbus Helicopter, tighter rules regarding helicopter ambulance operators, an NTSB seminar on loss of control accidents and a new Pilot Welcome Center at Friday Harbor, Washington. Friday Harbor Airport, Washington announced the opening of its new Pilot Welcome Center in […]

I still have my airplane today. Im very lucky. After the most recent annual inspection was completed, my aircrafts induction system caught fire. I found I was woefully unprepared for such an event. If I was unprepared, you probably are, too. Thankfully, no real damage was done. But this event highlighted for me some of […]

AOPA has launched an initiative to help pilots who have stepped away from flying return to the sky. “Get back in the left seat” is the motto of the Rusty Pilots initiative, a free nationwide program to reactivate lapsed pilots. The initiative draws on a notably successful local effort at Aviation Adventures flight school in […]

Letter of the Week:Flying to St. Barths I watched with great interest your video with the Aztec landing in St. Barths and finishing on the beach. I happened to be in St. Barths recently. I fly there regularly in my Cirrus SR-22 but was there most recently flying an airliner. Here are a few words […]

For most of us tooling around the airstrip and to the occasional pancake breakfast, the size of our fuel tanks doesnt matter. But when youre planning a longer flight, your aircrafts range becomes a consideration. Put another way, if you want to travel more than 500 nm, tank-size matters, and not all of us are […]

Ten out of every 100 Army helicopter pilots are women – but they account for only three out of every 100 accidents. Thats the bottom line in an Army report that, in an effort to study the impact of women on the front lines, compares accident rates of men and women flying U.S. Army helicopters […]

Probably the most difficult task on the Instrument Rating (IR) practical test is Area VII, Task D: Approach with Loss of Primary Flight Instrument Indicators. But why is the FAA so interested in this? In their own words from the IR Practical Test Standards (PTS): The FA A is concerned about numerous fatal aircraft accidents […]

Maintaining your IFR currency isnt that hard. Just fly and log in actual or simulated conditions six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks and intercepting and tracking electronic courses within the preceding six months, and youre golden. Even if you find yourself slightly out of currency in the 11th month, you can go out with […]

Letter of the Week:The Rest of the Story The new rest rules do not cover cargo flights, nor do they cover foreign flights in U.S. airspace. But the basics should be that professional pilots take care of their bodies, including getting adequate rest. Carriers give crew regulated rest periods, but unless the FAA wants the […]